Steam-controlling apparatus.



L. CUBELIG.

STEAM CONTROLLING APPARATUS. APPLIOAT-ION FILED JUNE 20, 1.912.

ggg g 7; Patented Apr.21,1914-.

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a uxiliry Engine. Q

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To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT o IoE.

LUDWIG CUBELIC, or CHARLOTTENBURG, GERMANY, nssrcuvon. ro GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, MORPORATION on NEW YORK.

STEAM-CONTROLLING APPMATUR'.

Be it 'known that I ,'Lnl wio CUBELIc, a subject of the King of Prussia, residing at Charlottenburg, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Controlling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to steam engines, and especially to an installation in which the exhaust steam or gas from one or more auxiliary engines or other apparatus is supplied to. an intermediate stage of the main engine. In installations of this character, particularly Where the engines are separately loaded, it may often occur that the auxiliary engine or engines will 'be oper; ating under full or partial load, while. the main engine may be operating with very "light-load or friction load only. Under these circumstances the low pressure fluid exhausting" from the auxiliary engine or engines and --entering the. main engine would be suiiicient to cause the latter to race if continuously supplied thereto. object of the present invention is to provide a controlling apparatus which, whenthe. condition just referred to occurs, will act-automatically to out 06 the supply of low pressure fluid to the main engine.

In order that the auxiliary engine or engines may continue in. operation after the controlling apparatus has operated to stop the flow of exhaust fluid therefrom to the main engine it is necessary that a second or supplementary pxhaust path be provided. To this end I provide means which operates to open a second or supplementary exhaust path when the controlling valve functions to cut ofi' thei ath of fiow fromthe auxiliary engine or engines to the main engine. This second or supplementary exhaust path may lead to atmosphere or to a suitable condenser or other apparatus, or to a still lower stage of the main engine in some instances. I preferably construct this means to be operated automatically by'fluid pressure, as will be explained more fully hereinafter, but I may, if found desirable, arrange automatic means to positively actuate the same.

In carrying out my invention I provide a suitable conduit for conveying the exhaust automatically closed when the load onthe Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed .l'une 20, 1912. Serial No. 704,390.

Patented Apr. '1, 1914.

main engine reaches a predetermined low value.

As 18 well known, in a multi-stage'turbin'e considerably in passing fromv full load to light load or to friction load, and I take ad- -ing a condition of light load on the main engine. I accordingly provide means-which valve when the pressure in the conduit conveying the exhaust steam reaches a' pr'edetei-uiinedlow value thereby indicating light or no load on the main engine."

biased to the 'closed position and held open by a catch, which catch is released byisuitable means operated when the pressure in the exhaust conduit lowers to a certain prevention I also provide valve means controlling the supply of high pressure fluid to the which. actsto close such valve means tothe supply of low pressure fluid to the main engine when the main engine tends to'race. The details of construction of the ape paratus will appear from the following-detailed description thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in \vhicha I Figure l-is a diagrammatic representation portion of the entire installation and Fig. 2 i'sa detail illustrating a modification.

The main andauniliary engines are not illustrated in detail, but the live steam for the main engine is conveyed through the valve 2, operable by a hand wheel '3 which turns the valve stem 4. portion of said stem meshes with anut 5 to cause the raising and lowering of the valve. The nut is held normally in a given position by a catch" 6, the tripping of which permits a spring 7 to force'down the nut and thereby shut the valve. The hand wheel 3 is preferably made in.the form of a cylinder having a sliding fit on the top of the valve when the valve is closed by the spring.

iliary engine or engines is conveyed the pressures'i-n the successive stages lower" determined value. In carrying out fny main engine and van emergency governor pipe 1, which is controlled by a throttle A screw-threadedvantage of this fact as a means for'i'ndicatwill automatically close the controlling a;

As one arrangement for carrying outl'my inventlon, I may provide a controlling valve gether with the valve means which controls of the parts which go to makeup the novel it? casing and acting as a cushioning device 'The exhaust steam or gas from the aux-' suitable conduit or conduits as by a pipe 8 to a valve casing 9 containing a valve 10 which controls the How of such steam to a pipe 11 by which it is conducted to a lower stage or the main engine. Leading from the pipe 8 is a branch pipe 12 which atl'ords an alternative path for the steam to the atmosphere or to a condenser or other apparatus or to a still lower stage of the main engine. This branch pipe is provided. with a check valve13 which is normally held closed by yielding means, such as the weighted lever 14, but will open outwardly when the pressure in the pipe 8 reaches a predetermined point. The valve 10 is similar in construction to the valve 2, and can be opened and closed by hand by the wheel 15, or closed by a springlfi when released from the catch 17.

The two catches 6, 17 are arranged to be simultaneously tripped by an emergency governor when the speed of the main engine exceeds a safe maximum; such a governor for instance as a radially movable Weight 18 in the main shaft 19 operatingby centrifugal force to actuate a lever 20 which trips the catch 2i and releases the connecting rod 22 attached to the catches (l. 17, and moved by a spring 23 or the like. The ,catch 17 has a lost motion connection with the rod 22 so that it can be moved independently when desired by a pressure rcsponsive device-such as the piston 24- in the cylinder 25, exposed on one side to atmos pheric pressure and on the other to the pressure of the steam in the valve casing 9 by means of the pipe 26.

With this construction, it the auxiliary machine is uniformly loaded, While the load on the main engine is greatly reduced, the main engine would race, it the same amount of exhaust steam is continuously supplied to it, since its regulator does not readily act to govern this amount. The decrease of load on the main engine, however, results in its governor reducing the supply of live steam, so that the pressure in all its stages becomes reduced. This causes a lower pressure in the valve casing 9 and cylinder so that the piston 24:- will be lifted by the atmospheric pressure and thus the catch l1 will be tripped and the valve 10 will be closed. This'causes a piling up of pressure in the pipe 8 suflicient to lift the checlcvalve 13, so that the exhaust steam can pass through the branch pipe 12, and the operation of the auxiliary machine will not be interfered with.

In case of necessity, the valves 2 and 10 can be closedsimultaneously by hand, by operating the lever 27 to trip the catches 6 and 17," so that the racing of the main engine avoided under all. circumstances.

If desired the checkyah'e, instead of he ling pressure opera-ted asshown n Fig, l,

valve means centre-lb may be positively moved mechanically. l have shown such an arrangement in Fig. 2 wherein the lever ll is connected through link 30 and lever 31 to the stem of val vc 10. According to this modification the check valve will be positively moved from its seat whenever the valve 10 closes.

' In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, .l have dcscriluul the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative, and that the illVGlll'lUll can be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s,--

l. The combination with a. multistage turbine, of a pipe conveying low pressure steam to an intermediate stage, thereof, and means responsive to a drop in the steam pressure in said intermediate stage for stopping the flow of low prcssurcslcam to said stage.

2. The combiuatimi with a multi-sla ;e turbine, oi a pipe conveying low ucssurc steam to an intermediate stage thereof, a pislon responsive to a drop in the steam pressure in said intermediate stage, and a valve controlled by said piston and operating to stop the llow of low pressure steam to said stage.

8. The combination with a n'iulti-sla sre turbine, of a pipe conveying low pressure steam to an intermediate stage thereof, an escape pipe opening from the low pressure steam pipe, a valve tontrollilu, s id escape pipe, and means for controlling said valve, said means comprising a movable abutment exposed on one side to the pressure of an in termediate stage and operating, to cause the valve to open when the pressure in the intermediate stage falls below a predetermined minimmn. a. The combination of a mixed pressure main engine, an auxiliary engine, a supply of high pressure fluid for the main engine, valve means controlling such supply, conduit connecting the exhaust of the auxiliary engine to an intermediate stage of the main engine, valve means in such conduit, an emergency governor which acts on both said valve means to close the same when the speed. of the main engine becomes exces ive, and means esponsive to the pressure of the low pressure li'uid which acts to shut oil the supplythereof when said pressure becomes too low.

5. The combination of a mixed pressure main engine, on auxiliary-engine, a supply of high pressure flu l the main emrine,

i supply. a conthe auxiliary of the main duit connecting the ev engine to an int rmed llll iii eeann ency governor which acts on both said e means to close the same when the speed the main engine becomes excessive, means pensive to the pressure of the low prese fluid which acts to shut off the supply i reef when said pressure becomes too low, a second exhaust conduit, and means controlled by the pressure in said first named conduit for connecting the exhaust of the auxiliary engine to said second exhaust conduit.

3. Thecombination With two motors one of which exhausts into the other, of a device responsive to the pressure of the fluid am thefirst motor flowing to the second i nieh when this pressure becomes too low uses: the passage and opens another path The combination with a plurality of inotors one of which exhausts into the other, int "valve means controlling the passage of hud iron). one motor to the other, valve as controlling an independent supply of i to the second motor, and means conby the speed of the second motor for Mug off both supplies of fluid when the i .1}: sad becomes excessive and opening another path of exhaust for the first motor.

e 'ilhe combination of a main engine, an auxiliary engine exhausting into an intermediate stage thereof, means controlled by the ne, valve means in such conduit, an

pressure of the exhaust from the auxiliary engine which closes the passage into the main engine and opens another path for the exhaust when said pressure becomes too low,

and means controlled by the speedof the main engine for changing the path of ex haust as just set forth and cutting 01? the main supply of motive fluid to the main engine when the speed of the main engine becomes excessive.

9. The combination of a main engine, a

' supply of high pressure fluid for the main engine, anauxilia-ry engine, a conduit conmeeting the exhaust of the auxiliary engine to an intermediate stage of the main engine, a valve biased to the closed position controlling the passage of fluid through the con duit, means for holding said valve open, means for releasing said holding means when the load on. said main engine reaches a certain predetermined low value, a second 

